Münster paints the town blue

On Tuesday 30 August the tradition continues and the night turned into day once more. Around 20.30 on Schlossplatz some test painting will be done with the fluorescent blue paint, then around 21.00 the convoy of painting truck, support vehicles and police escort will make its way along the race route.

Jürgen Sieme, a former member of the organising team, who is still a strong supporter of the race, and Michael Brinkmann, the chair of the marathon organisation, accompany the convoy as they have done for many years along the four-hour journey through the city centre and the quarters of Gievenbeck, Nienberge and Roxel.

Some runners and cyclists also accompany the paint truck – wearing a marathon shirt, of course. “It brings us luck,” say some of those taking part in the ritual.

“Sometimes we get applause from a few night owls who see us from their balconies,”, says Jürgen Sieme. While at the start of the job the city is still quite lively, after 23.00 it gets dark and lonely in the suburbs. It’s nice when they finish painting just before one in the morning.

In the last 19 years the job had to be interrupted and completed the following night only twice due to rain or a defect of the painting equipment. “Once the paint hardened in the pipes and wouldn’t go through the painting nozzle – that time we didn’t get finished until 4am,” remembers Michael Brinkmann. Mostly, though, the painting is done without incident. Drivers and cyclists are reminded to pay attention and not to try to drive through the convoy risking damage to their own paintwork.

Blue line and Münster Marathon fans are welcome to join in the ritual on Tuesday from 9pm on at the Schlossplatz car park.